Sev's Second Chance
by Evans17
Summary: If Severus Snape had a chance to relive his life...This is my first story, so please review!
1. Chapter 1: A Second Chance

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 1

Severus Snape looked up into the bright green eyes above him and breathed out deeply, a whoosh of air that flew out of him. The pain was fading, giving way to a bone deep exhaustion. He relaxed, accepting his death, and the world around him faded away. Last to go were a pair of almond shaped green eyes. "Lily..." he murmured, and the darkness consumed him completely.

The darkness was all around. He was spinning through it, weightless and free. It was calm. Then, a light. He was heading towards it fast, and he barely had time to wonder at it before it sucked him in. He was pulled through the light into a place that looked rather like the park he used to play at, back when he was a child. And a voice... a voice was calling his name. He would know that voice anywhere-he whirled to face it, and there she was. Lily Evans, the person he had both lived and died for. Her hair fell around her face in a shining curtain, the same deep, vibrant red it had been in life. Her lips were curled into a wistful smile, and her green eyes looked deep, as though they had known grief far beyond imagining. "Severus..." she began, and broke off. "Sev..." He lost composure then, dropped to his knees. "Lily, forgive me!" he cried, anguished. "I never meant, I never wanted this-"

"Shhhh," she replied. "I forgave you long ago, Sev. Long ago. Thank you for watching over my son all these years. Listen, Sev," she continued. "This is why I have come. You-we are getting another chance." She paused. "To be together." He looked at her in utter confusion. She sighed. "If you consent, we will be...sent back. Reincarnated. In a replica of our old life...It will be our chance not to push each other away, to overcome, our chance to correct our mistakes..." He looked dumbfounded. "But," he whispered. "But... Potter..." She sighed again. "Yes, Severus, I do love James, but he and I-we had our time, and, if you make the same mistakes, we will have another lifetime. But that's it, you see. A lifetime. We had ours, and this is your chance to have a lifetime with me, Sev. A lifetime, that's all. No more, no less." He nodded slowly. "And if I refuse? If I am happy with what I have had?"

"I will send you on," she said simply. He looked at her for a moment, really looked at her. He took in her mouth, always smiling, even in her sleep, and her bright eyes, alive with emotion. Then he too smiled. "I accept. I will try again. Just one thing," she looked at him, curious. "Will I remember this when I am reborn? Or you? Will we know who we were?" She smiled again. "I don't know, Sev. We can only wait and see. Are you ready?" He nodded. She cupped her hands around his face and blew gently. Her sweet scent engulfed him, and he lost consciousness once more.


	2. Chapter 2: First Meeting

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 2

Severus Snape watched the girls as they played on the swings, one small and gentle, the other big and dominating. Petunia. That was her name, and the other one was Lily. _Lily._ The name struck a chord inside him, made his heart thrum with deep emotions, pain and happiness. He didn't really understand it; he was only ten, after all, eleven next month. What he did know was that Lily was a witch, like his mother, even if _she_ didn't know it yet. He watched as Lily grasped a flower in her hand, then held it out secretly for the other girl to look. The petals were opening and closing strangely, freakishly.

"_It's not right," _said the older girl, Petunia, then added longingly, _"How do you do it?"_ At this, Severus seized his chance. Coming out from his hiding spot in the bushes, he said,

"_It's obvious, isn't it? You're a witch!" _

"_That's not a very nice thing to say to somebody!"_ Lily responded, offended, then walked away with her sister. Severus ran after the girls.

"_You are. You are a witch. I've been watching you for a while. But there's nothing wrong with that. My Mum's one, and I'm a wizard."_ Petunia made a derisive noise.

"_You're that Snape boy! Come on, Lily, we're leaving."_ They marched away, and though Lily seemed reluctant to go, she did not turn back. Severus stood watching, confused and bitterly disappointed. What had he done wrong? Why did she seem so unhappy when he told her she was a witch? He sat down on the swing she had just vacated, utterly bemused. After about fifteen minutes, he heard a rustling from behind him, near the entrance to the park. Turning, he saw Lily's small red head peek back around the bushes. She came over next to him.

"Hello," she said. 'I'm sorry about earlier-you startled me, is all, and Petunia..." She fell silent. He nodded acknowledgement. "Is it true?" She asked, breathless. "Petunia says you're only lying, but I can, can't I? I _can _do things she can't, things other people can't. Is it really magic?" He smiled at her excitement.

"Yes," he said. "It really is." She grinned happily, then, looking up at him with wide eyes, began another question.

"Is-" she began, but was interrupted by a shrill call, faraway but coming nearer. "Lily...Lily!"

"Shoot," Lily muttered. "It's Petunia... I have to go for dinner now. Meet me by the river tomorrow at three? After school?" He nodded again. Lily ran out of the playground, but, just before she disappeared from view, she shouted, "What's your name?"

He called back "Severus!" and she was gone.

As Lily walked home that evening, hand in hand with Petunia, who was outraged that she had gone back to talk to "that Snape boy" she smiled secretly to herself. Severus... the name resonated with her... She shook the thought away like an irksome fly. It was nothing... She knew Tuney would laugh if she told her she thought she really was a witch, but what other explanations were there? She _could_ do things her sister couldn't it was only the truth! She couldn't wait to talk to him again!

**Author's Note:** Just to clear this up: Severus and Lily were not put into replicas of their eleven year old bodies. They actually restarted, but I started at the age where they meet each other for entertainment's sake.


	3. Chapter 3: The Wizarding World

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 3

The next day at precisely three o'clock, Severus was patrolling the edge of the river, looking for Lily. If only she had said _where_ by the river! He was walking back along the left bank when he saw the by now familiar flash of deep red. "Lily!" he called out and she stepped towards him.

"Come on," she said. "I know a nice place where we can talk. I go there sometimes-when I need quiet." She led him further down the river and turned into a clump of trees, seemingly no different than all the other trees along the river. As she led him through, however, he noticed that the trees were a little farther apart, allowing one to pass through them, and after a few minutes of walking, they emerged into a small clearing ringed with trees. It was tiny, but just big enough for the two of them to sit comfortably on the grass.

"What is it like?" She asked excitedly. "Being a witch or a wizard, I mean? Are there-are there schools for people like us?"

He nodded. "Yes, we'll get our letters next year, I expect. You and me-we'll go to Hogwarts! It's the best school of magic there is," he added pompously. "Much better than Beauxbatons in France, or that stupid Sparks school in Canada..." he trailed off. She looked positively ecstatic.

"A letter? What kind of letter?"

"Well-I'll get a letter inviting me to Hogwarts by owl, but since your parents are muggles, someone from Hogwarts will come and explain to them, I expect." She nodded.

"Tell me more," she demanded.

"Well, there's the ministry of magic-_they can punish you if you do magic outside of school, you get letters." _

"_But I HAVE done magic outside school!"_

"_We're all right. We haven't got wands yet. They let you off when you're a kid and you can't help it. But once you're eleven and they start training you, then you've got to go careful." _She looked apprehensive.

"Is there a prison?"

"Yeah. But you wouldn't go there for underage magic-it's for real criminals. _You wouldn't end up in Azkaban, you're too-"_ he stopped short, blushing. She smiled at him.

"Azkaban?"

"That's its name. The prison, I mean."

"Why do you call them muggles?'

"Who?"

"My family."

"Muggle-that's our word for non-magical people. You're parents are muggles, so you're a mud-that is, a muggle-born." He turned red again, but she hadn't noticed the slip.

"_Does it make a difference?"_ she asked nervously. _"Being muggle-born?"_ He looked at her eager, wondering face, her smiling mouth.

"_No,"_ he said. _"It doesn't make any difference."_

"_Good,"_ she said, and at that moment they were interrupted by a noise from the tree behind Lily. "Petunia!" Lily cried, happy, but Severus looked upset. "Why were you spying?" he demanded.

Petunia turned away from his accusing face, towards Lily. "Lily, you don't honestly believe that there's such a thing as magic, do you?" When Lily didn't respond, Petunia shrieked with laughter. "You _do_! That's unbelievable!" At this, a large branch fell from the tree above her, catching her on the shoulder. She burst into tears and ran off. Lily turned to Severus.

"_Did you make that happen?"_

"_I-no, no I didn't."_

"_You DID!"_ She turned and ran after her sister, calling, "Tuney, Petunia!"

**Author's Note:** in response to curious reviews, this is more like an alternate universe than the past-although given that they've already lived one life, some things will be a little different. They don't know consciously that they've already lived, but as they get older their subconscious might dredge up some interesting things...


	4. Chapter 4: Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 4

Severus waited in the same place by the river the next day, and, as he had hoped, Lily arrived around three. "Lily," he said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that-I couldn't control it." She nodded. "I know. I'm sorry for being so angry. I know that I can't control it sometimes, either. I shouldn't have gotten so upset; it was just, my sister... Anyway, do you still want to be friends?" He grinned. "Of course!" She smiled at him, then the questions began anew. "Does every witch or wizard go to a magic school?"

"Well, I don't know why you wouldn't, but... you don't have to, I suppose."

"What is it like? Hogwarts, I mean? Do you know?"

"Well, there are four houses, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and _Gryffindor_." This last was said with quiet contempt. "You'll want to be in Slytherin, that's the best, of course. My mum was in Slytherin."

"What's the difference between the houses?"

"They're made up of different kinds of people. Slytherins are clever, cunning and press themselves hard to achieve their goals. Ravenclaws are the wisest; they pursue knowledge to the end. They're witty and sarcastic, too. Hufflepuffs-they're anyone who didn't fit into the other houses. They're kind and hardworking, but they're just-well, average. Gryffindors are the brawniest, they're reckless and they don't think much."

"I hope I'm in Slytherin or Ravenclaw," she breathed. They sound so _interesting_!"

Severus smiled hugely. "Me too," he said.

Severus and Lily met almost every day to discuss Hogwarts and magic. Lily discovered many things about Severus. He was a sweet but very reserved boy. His parents fought a lot-his dad was a real bully who hated magic, and was also a drunk, so there was never too much money in the house. Lily was tactful enough never to offer help-only sympathy.

Petunia became quite annoyed, constantly making snide remarks about how much time Lily spent with "that Snape boy," but Lily ignored her. She loved Tuney, but she had a connection with Sev. They understood each other, as Tuney, being a muggle, could not. Poor Tuney-under the bravado and bluster, she was only jealous.

In due course, a calm young wizard arrived at the house and informed them that, as Lily had turned eleven in January of this year, she was being offered a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At first her parents thought it was a hoax, naturally, but after the young man had performed a few spells for them and shown them all the proper paperwork, they were convinced. Lily would be starting at Hogwarts next year!

Lily's parents took Sev and her shopping for their school supplies together about two weeks before term started. It so happened that the day they chose was Severus's eleventh birthday. Petunia refused to come, electing to spend the day with a few of her school friends instead. They had a wonderful time in Diagon Alley. First off, Lily's parents changed some muggle money at Gringotts, the wizarding bank. Then they went off to get their supplies. Severus took the lead, showing them the different shops. At a shop called Madam Malkin's, Lily saw the school uniform for the first time. A plain white collared shirt with a tie in the house colors, with a black or gray vest over top and a black or gray skirt or pair of pants. Over this, a long, flowing black robe with the house crest on the left breast, and house colors inside. "But Sev," Lily said, "Since we don't know what house we'll be in, how do we know which colors to get?" Severus smiled knowingly. "See those over there?" he nodded towards a rack of nondescript black and gray uniforms. "Those are color change uniforms. Once you're sorted, you simply tap them with your wand and say the name of your house and they turn those colors. And those," he pointed to a glass case full of uniforms in red and gold, silver and green, blue and bronze, and yellow and black. "Those show how the uniform you pick looks in each color." Lily led her parents to the back of the room, where the three of them picked out five sets of clothes. Severus picked out a uniform too, but his face fell when he saw the price. "Three galleons!" he muttered to himself, "and I've only got ten, and I need a wand, that's seven, and books too," he replaced the clothes on the rack. Lily looked at him worryingly as he pawed through the sale racks. She ran over to her father and whispered something in his ear. He looked over at Severus, still muttering to himself, and nodded. He walked over to Severus and clapped him on the shoulder, then steered him back over to the rack of color change uniforms. Lily watched as her father convinced Severus to let them buy him a uniform as a birthday present, then the two walked back to Lily. Severus was grinning hugely. Her father paid for the uniforms, then they went to get their books. After they had bought their books, they went to buy their wands, the most exciting bit. They walked into Ollivander's, the wand shop, and Lily gave a little gasp. She couldn't help it, it was _creepy_. The store was dark and dismal, and it looked as though no one had been in it for years. She grabbed Sev's hand and he blushed a little, but Lily didn't notice in the dark. After a few minutes, an old man with very pale eyes came out of a back room. "Hello," he said in a whispery voice, "and what have we here?" Lily, Severus, and Lily's parents introduced themselves, and Mr. Ollivander (for that was who it was) began pulling long, thin boxes off the shelves that, Lily realized, reached all the way to the ceiling. Inside the boxes were wands of every length, shape and color. Ollivander pressed wands into Lily's hand, telling her to "swish", then pulled them out again just as fast. At the same time he explained how wands had powerful magical objects inside of them. Eventually, Ollivander handed Lily a wand that, when she "swished" made red and gold sparks. Lily's fingers were warm where they held the wand. Ollivander seemed delighted. "Ten and a quarter inches, willow, flexible. Phoenix feather and unicorn tail hair... very good for charms. Very good indeed." Lily's parents gave him seven galleons, and then they waited outside while Sev found and paid for his new wand. After this, they went to the pet shop, where Lily's parents bought her a lanky, fluffy gray kitten with greenish yellow eyes. Then, for an added birthday treat, they took Lily and Sev to Florean Fortescue's, an ice cream shop, and bought them huge ice creams. All in all, Severus thought, it was the best birthday he'd ever had.

**Author's Note:** Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring, but I wanted to set up Lily's building excitement to be immersed in the wizarding world. I also wanted to show a little of Lily's constant attention to Sev. She sees the little things that bother him and tries to fix them. It's love, definitely, but whether it can be romantic or not remains to be seen...


	5. Chapter 5: The Sorting

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 5

Severus and Lily saw very little of each other for the rest of the summer, so by the time September 1st rolled around, they were excited to see one another at King's Cross Station. Lily was confused at first.

"But there's no platform nine and three quarters," she whispered anxiously to Sev. He smiled and showed her how to pass through the barrier to the platform. As Sev and his mother went through, Lily dragged her parents and Petunia through, too, and they all stared in wonder at the huge, scarlet Hogwarts Express. Lily said a hurried goodbye to her parents, and turned to hug Petunia, but her sister turned away.

"_You're going to a school for freaks,"_ she spat.

"_You didn't think it was such a freak's school when you wrote to the headmaster and begged him to take you!" _Lily replied furiously.

"_That was my private-how could you? You-you and that boy! You've been sneaking in my room!" _Lily tried to defend herself. _"No-not sneaking-" _

Petunia ignored her. _"Freak!" _she said again. Lily walked away, tears in her eyes as she hefted her trunk up onto the train and then clambered aboard. The clock struck eleven, and she waved vigorously to her parents as the train pulled away. Petunia had her back turned and her arms crossed. When her parents and the station were out of sight, she walked along the corridors, trying to find Sev. She finally found him sitting across from a couple of rowdy boys, and sat down next to him. He turned to face her, and his eyes were alive with excitement. He was already wearing his new uniform, she noticed.

"_This is it,"_ he said. _"We're off to Hogwarts!"_ She smiled and nodded, but for the first time he noticed the glistening in her eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"_Tuney hates me,"_ she responded. _"Because we saw that letter from Dumbledore." _He was at a loss for what to say. Petunia was only a muggle, anyway... Lily shouldn't be so upset.

"I do hope we're in Slytherin together," he said to her. She opened her mouth to agree, but one of the other boys in the compartment cut across her.

"_Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"_ he asked of the boy sitting next to him. Lily studied the boy who had spoken. He had a thin face, untidy black hair, oval glasses, and hazel eyes. He looked smug and well fed, and was boyishly handsome. She felt an inexplicable rush of dislike, as well as a little skip of her heart, at the sight of him. The boy next to him, who had a square jaw and shaggy dark hair that fell into his eyes, and was also rather handsome, answered seriously.

"_My whole family have been in Slytherin."_

The first boy looked taken aback. _"Blimey! And I thought you seemed all right!" _The other boy grinned broadly.

"_Maybe I'll break tradition,"_ he said. _"Where are you heading, if you've got a choice?"_

"_Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart! Like my dad."_ He hefted an invisible sword. Severus snorted. The boy turned on him. _"Got a problem with that?"_

"_No,"_ said Sev, sneering a bit. _"If you'd rather be brawny than brainy-"_

"_Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?"_ interrupted the shaggy haired boy. The two of them roared with laughter. Lily flushed with anger.

"_Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."_

The two of them left, and as the door closed behind them, one of the boys called, _"See ya, Snivellus!" _Lily and Severus walked down the corridor, peering into the compartments. All of them were full of chatting, laughing boys and girls except the one on the very end, which was occupied by only a tall, thin boy with uneven dark blond hair. He was already wearing his robes, and they saw that he was in Ravenclaw colors. Lily opened the door.

"Can we sit here?" He looked up from the thick book he was reading.

"First years?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Yes, yes, come in." As they sat down, he leaned forward and offered Lily his hand. "Lovegood. Xenophilius Lovegood."

"Lily Evans."

"Charmed, I'm sure. And you are?" He looked at Sev.

"Severus Snape."

"Ah, yes. Yes, jolly good." He settled down and opened his book once more. Lily exchanged a worried glance with Sev. This boy was clearly a little mad.

After a few hours, during which Lily and Sev chatted excitedly, a plump witch with tightly curled steel gray hair came by. She was pushing a trolley loaded with all sorts of fantastic sweets. "Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked. Xenophilius bought an acid pop.

"Good for the mind," he explained airily when he saw Lily staring. Severus politely declined any food, but Lily used some of her pocket money to buy a bit of everything. She wanted to try it all! She paid up the galleon it cost her, then spread everything out on the seat between her and Sev.

"Dig in," she said. "I can't eat it all." At first, he declined, not wanting to accept charity, but soon he saw she was telling the truth, she simply couldn't eat it all. The two gorged happily on the sweets until they were all gone, and then simply talked once more. At last Lily peered out the window and realized it was getting dark. A voice echoed through the train. "We will be at Hogwarts in five minutes...please leave all bags on the train..."

"You'd better go and change." Xenophilius was watching her appraisingly. "We'll be there quite soon, and if you're still in muggle clothes, you'll be in trouble." Lily went off to change, and returned feeling apprehensive. "How do I look?" She asked Sev, twirling. She had picked a black pleated skirt and a black vest for the first day.

He blushed. "You look-wonderful," he blurted, then ducked his head, embarrassed. She looked at her outfit critically.

"It's a bit plain...But that'll change when I'm sorted, I suppose." She sat down again and pressed her face to the window. "We're slowing down!" She exclaimed. The train was indeed slowing. It soon came to a complete halt. Lily scooped up her cat, whom she had named Aurellia, and she and Sev clambered down to the platform. She saw the black haired boy from the train a good distance away, and was glad not to have to talk to him again-he made her feel strange.

She heard a gruff voice shouting in the distance. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" And she pulled Sev in that direction. Soon she saw that the voice belonged to a black haired giant of a boy, who looked to be in his late teens. "Come on then, four to a boat," he was saying. "I'm Hagrid, gamekeeper here at Hogwarts...all righ' then, four to a boat, only four, _not_ five, break it up there..." Sev and Lily climbed into a boat and were soon joined by two others, a boy with sandy hair and a rather round face who introduced himself as Frank Longbottom, and a sweet brunette girl who seemed a bit lost, whose name was Mary McDonald. Mary was also a muggle born, which accounted for the lost look, Lily supposed, and the two of them chatted about the wonders of the wizarding world while Frank and Severus discussed the sorting ceremony.

After a short time, Hagrid announced that they would soon have their first view of the castle. They all craned their necks to see, and after a couple of minutes, the towers of the castle came into view. Lily gasped, and Mary's jaw dropped. Even Frank and Severus looked stunned. The castle was _huge_, with turrets and towers poking out everywhere, all made from huge blocks of gray stone. Aurellia mewed, and Lily stroked her absently. "It's _beautiful_," whispered Mary, and the others nodded. The boats soon pulled up on the shore, and the first years, a hundred or so of them, huddled in the entrance of the castle outside a pair of giant, heavy oak doors. "Those doors lead to the great hall, I expect," said Frank in a hushed voice. After a few minutes, a tall, thin woman in her late thirties came down one of the many staircases leading off from the hall where they were. She had reddish blond hair pulled back in a tight bun, square glasses and a severe look. She wore black robes, and she looked strict, Lily thought.

"I am Professor McGonagall," she said. "Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments, you will enter the great hall-"

"See?" Frank whispered.

"-And be sorted," McGonagall continued. At that precise moment, Lily became aware of whispering behind her. She half turned and saw the two boys from the train talking and laughing in low voices. She glared, then turned to listen to McGonagall once more, but she had finished speaking, and she turned and threw open the great doors. Lily looked into the biggest room she had ever seen. There were four tables that stretched the length of the room, crammed with people, who had all turned to look when the doors were opened. She could see from the colors covering the people at each table which was for which house. At the end of the unbelievably long room, a great oak table was set where the teachers were sitting. She looked over at Sev, and saw that he had gone pale. At their end of the room, she suddenly noticed, there was a single stool on which rested a tattered, battered old pointed hat. As she stared, a rip in the hat's brim opened wide, and it began to sing.

"_Oh, you may yet think I'm ugly,_

_But there's more to life, you see,_

_I'm smart that's all, _

_And I think that that's enough to be._

_I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,_

_I'll show you where to go,_

_Try me on,_

_I'll tell you _

_What you ought to know_

_You might fit into Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell those noble of heart_

_Their courage, nerve, and daring_

_Have long set them apart_

_You might go well in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are kind and just,_

_They work hard, and_

_Be sweet they always must,_

_Or perhaps in Ravenclaw _

_You'll do your very best_

_They've ready wit and learning,_

_Their quick minds never rest_

_Or yet in cunning Slytherin_

_If you'll never be struck dumb_

_These folks will give up who they are,_

_For who they can become._

_So try me on, don't be so shy_

_I tell the truth-_

_I'll never lie! _

Lily had dropped Aurellia as the hat began its song, and the gray cat had scampered away. She hoped she knew where to go... There was a storm of clapping as the hat fell silent. Lily was a little nervous now. Mary looked like she might throw up. Most of the first years did. They shuffled into a line as the Professor McGonagall called out names. "Black, Sirius," who turned out to be the shaggy haired boy from the train, was sorted into Gryffindor, to his obvious delight.

After what seemed like years, she called out, "Evans, Lily!" Lily shuffled to the stool, put on the cap with sweaty hands, and sat down. The hat covered her eyes, and she gave a start when it began to speak. "So, a muggleborn, hmmm? You've definitely got the right ideals for Gryffindor, but you've got bitterness and ambition enough for Slytherin or Ravenclaw... No, you've got a really clear sense of right and wrong-yes, I suppose it'd better be GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted the last. She removed the hat from her head and went to sit down at the Gryffindor table. As she did, she saw Severus, looking upset. She gave him a little grimace of apology and then sat down. Damn! Now, unless he was in Gryffindor, they wouldn't be together. Oh, well. She resolved, then and there, to remain friends with Sev no matter what house he was in. She turned, after a moment, and saw that the shaggy haired boy-Sirius was sitting next to her. He grinned cockily at her. She turned her back to him and folded her arms.

Both Frank and Mary were sorted into Gryffindor, to Lily's relief. Mary came and sat next to her, and they watched the rest of the sorting together. The other boy from the train was named James Potter, and no sooner had the hat touched his head then it yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" He sat down between her and Black and grinned arrogantly, running his fingers through his hair to make it yet messier. She turned away from him, annoyed at how her heart faltered for a beat when he grinned at her. She waited with fingers crossed as Sev was called, but the hat shouted "SLYTHERIN!" and she sank back in her seat, disappointed. She watched as he sat down at the Slytherin table and was patted on the back by a prefect with long, blond hair, who smiled too widely.

As soon as the last first year was sorted, an old man with a long silver beard stood up to speak. He also had long silver hair and a very long, very crooked nose. He gazed out at them from above his half moon spectacles and said, "Welcome, first years! The rest of you, welcome back! There is a time for long, boring speeches, but thankfully, that time has not yet come. Now dig in!" He waved his arms wildly, and platters full of food appeared on every table. Plates and silverware appeared in front of the students, and everyone began eating with gusto. Lily took careful portions, selecting the healthiest choices. She was just digging into her salad when James Potter spoke to her.

"What is that stuff, Evans, rabbit food?" he asked. His plate was loaded with steak, chips, and other things of that sort. He had no vegetables at all. Lily sniffed.

"Just because all you eat is junk, Potter, doesn't mean that the rest of us can't eat healthily. She picked up her goblet and drank. "Bleagh! What is this stuff?" He smiled patronizingly. "Pumpkin juice," he said. "It takes some getting used to." She looked at her goblet.

"Is there any way I can get water?" she asked, half to Potter and half to the cup itself. To her surprise, the liquid in the goblet immediately turned clear. She stared at it. Then she drank a sip. It was cool, fresh water. "That's marvelous," she exclaimed. Potter was grinning at her again.

"It's almost like magic!" he said in a mocking way.

"Oh, shut up," she replied, and refused to speak to him again throughout the meal, busying herself with her food. After a lovely dessert, she was feeling tired, and was glad when the silver haired man announced it was time to go up to their dormitories. A kind asian girl with long black hair and a prefect badge led them up to Gryffindor tower. As Lily left the great hall, she waved a hurried goodbye to Sev, who looked unhappy. When they arrived outside the Gryffindor common room, Lily was relieved to see that Aurellia was sitting there, mewing. She gathered the cat up in her arms and scolded her as the prefect explained that they had to tell the password to the fat lady in the portrait hanging on the door before they could enter.

The password was "bubotubers," and Lily was startled when, upon hearing the word, the fat lady awoke from her snooze, smoothed her pink dress, and said grumpily, "Yes, yes, come in then," while the portrait swung forward to admit them. The Gryffindor common room was a cozy place, with a roaring fire, tall windows and many squashy red and gold armchairs. The walls were hung with Gryffindor banners, and there were two staircases, one on the left side of the room, one on the right. The prefect led them up the right-hand staircase with the promise of warm beds, but when they arrived at the top of the staircase, all they found was a drafty landing with hallways leading in all different directions. There must have been seven in all, but the prefect directed them up the first one on the left, explaining that the second passage was for second years, the third for third years, and so on.

They walked wearily down the corridor, and when they reached the end, they saw several large four-poster beds waiting for them. The beds were red and gold too, with red curtains that could be drawn around the bed for privacy. Lily saw her luggage resting on one of the beds and went over to it. She unpacked hurriedly, hanging her robes in the little closet she shared with the girl in the next bed over, and folding her other clothes into the drawers of the little dresser next to her bed. There was a lamp on the dresser, and she placed a photo of her family on it. She undressed and washed up as fast as she could, and then she touched all her uniforms with her wand and say quietly, "Gryffindor." Then she placed her wand on the dresser, climbed into bed, pulled the curtains shut and fell fast asleep.

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the awful Sorting Hat Song, rhyming poetry has never been my strong suit. Also, PLEASE REVIEW! I need to know if I'm on the right track... And reviews encourage me to write/revise/publish with much more enthusiasm (wink wink). So please review this!


	6. Chapter 6: Introductions

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 6

The next morning, Lily was awoken by a low murmuring. She groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes. She pulled back her curtains and saw that most of the girls were sitting cross legged on the bed next to hers, talking quietly. A few girls were still asleep. She tiptoed over to the group and said hello. "May I join?" she asked.

"Of course," replied a girl with short strawberry blond hair. "We're just getting to know each other. I'm Alice Lourdes," she added. The other girls gave their names. A girl with thick black hair and heavily lidded eyes was Andromeda Black.

"Yeah, I'm Sirius's cousin," she explained, "and don't get me confused with my sister Bella-Bellatrix, she's a year older, and she looks like me, but she's a Slytherin if I ever saw one, and obviously I'm not..." She grimaced. "She's really evil, my sister," she said, but didn't elaborate. Another girl with long, wavy golden hair was Maeve Finnigan. A girl with long chestnut hair was Hayley Kamber, and a girl with short, spiky black hair was Vivian Delaney. A thin girl with chocolate colored skin and braided black hair was Maddie Greene, and a girl with long violet hair introduced herself as Susan Tonks. She was the girl who shared Lily's closet.

"My twin brother's here too," she said, "Ted. We're both muggleborn, so we weren't exactly expecting to come here. I always did know I was a bit strange, though. I can change my appearance at will, you see-I'm a metamorphmagus. My parents always said I was imagining things, but I've learned to control it now... look." She turned her nose into a pig snout and then back again. The other girls gasped. The two sleeping girls soon awoke. One was Mary McDonald, who Lily had already met, and the other was a thin pale girl with fire engine red hair and millions of freckles, who was full of energy. Her name was Lucy Weasley.

"All my family've gone to Hogwarts," she said. "I've got so many cousins I can't count them all!" The girls talked for a bit longer, then as the room got brighter, they got ready for their first day at Hogwarts. Lily washed and brushed her hair and teeth, then got dressed. She put on a white collared shirt first, short sleeved, as it was a hot day, then added one of her ties. The one she picked was red with gold stripes diagonally across it. Over this she added a black vest that now had bands of red and gold at the neck and hem, and she put on her black pleated skirt. She added white knee socks with gold and red bands at the top, then put on a pair of black converse. Then she shrugged on her robe with the red interior, patting the Gryffindor lion on the left breast, as if to make sure it was still there. She petted Aurellia, who purred, then left for breakfast. At the table, she sat between Alice and Susan and ate heartily. She was just finishing a piece of toast with jam when something hit her in the back of the head. Turning, she saw a crumpled wad of paper that had fallen to the floor after bouncing off her head. She picked it up and unfolded it. It said in messy writing, "Rabbit Food!" She glared at Potter. What was his problem? She noticed McGonagall coming down the length of the table, handing out slips of paper.

"Timetables," Alice whispered. "This is exciting!" Lily soon got her timetable. She compared quickly with Alice and Susan.

"Excellent," Susan said. "We've got all the same classes!" All the girls compared timetables. Lily had all the same classes with Susan and Andromeda, and most of the same classes with Alice and Mary. She also had a few classes with Maddie, Hayley, and Vivian, but none with Maeve or Lucy. That was too bad-she'd have liked to get to know them better, even if Maeve was a bit standoffish. She had quite a few classes with the Slytherins-that was good, she might be able to see Sev. First class of the day was herbology with Professor Sprout at nine-in ten minutes! This class was with the Hufflepuffs. Lily raced up to the dormitories with Andromeda and Susan, grabbed her new brown satchel, stuffed in her supplies, and the three of them arrived only a minute or so late. Out of breath and sweaty, Lily was a bit disgruntled when Professor Sprout, a very young woman with curly brown hair, announced they would not need books, quills, or parchment during any of her classes. They spent the half hour learning the names of various plants, and there was no homework. It seemed, all in all, to be a rather lax class. The only annoyance was James Potter, who had insisted on comparing schedules, then seeing that they had all the same classes, proceeded to annoy her all class, aided by his friend Black.

After this class, they had a half hour break before double potions with the Slytherins at ten o'clock. Lily went up to the dormitories and gathered all the things she needed for potions, this time packing them carefully in her bag. _Magical Drafts and Potions_, a long quill, a bottle of black ink, several rolls of parchment. She took off her robe, hanging off the strap of her satchel. It was simply too hot for robes. The other girls were doing the same.

"It's so very _hot_," Mary complained, fanning herself with parchment. The girls had sprawled out on the floor and were discussing the first year boys as only eleven year olds could.

"That James really seems to like you," Susan said mischievously.

"Urgghh... he's so conceited," Lily replied. "And he keeps bothering me. What's _with_ him?" The other girls giggled and pelted her with little pieces of parchment.

"It's so obvious, Lily," Alice said. "He _likes_ you!" Maeve had left the circle and was fixing her hair on her bed, Lily noticed.

"You're one to talk," Lily said, steering the conversation away from herself. "Did you see how Frank was watching you, Alice?"

Alice blushed. "He was _not_, Lily." The conversation turned to Quidditch lessons. Mary, Lily, and Susan had never heard of Quidditch, of course, so the other girls began explaining. Long before they were finished, they had to leave for class. Maddie, who loved Quidditch, promised to explain the rest after classes.

Lily, Susan, and Andromeda chatted all the way to class. The potions classroom was in the dungeon. As they entered, Lily was glad to see that Sev was sitting at a desk by himself. Apologizing to Andromeda and Susan, she left them at a two-person desk together, and went to sit next to Sev.

"Hey," she whispered as she took out her book.

"Hi!" he whispered back happily, "I was worried we wouldn't have any classes together." She was about to reply that she had been worried, too when the teacher entered the room, and the students fell silent. He was a short, fat, bald little man.

"Hello class, I am Professor Slughorn. Today, we will be brewing a simple potion in pairs, just to assess your skills. We will be brewing a cure for boils. The best potion will earn fifteen points for their house. Now, turn to the person next to you, ah yes, and these will be your permanent seats-and _begin_!" Lily turned in her book to the boil cure and began preparing ingredients, while Sev got the cauldron ready. Just as she was about to add the crushed snake fangs, Sev stopped her.

"Look," he said, pointing to the instructions, "If you add half that amount, it will balance the slugs better, which will allow for quicker removal of boils." He scribbled busily in his book. She squinted at the formula for a few minutes, then nodded.

"That's brilliant, Sev. However did you think of that?" He flushed bright red and mumbled about it "being easy, really," By the end of class, Sev and Lily had managed to create a perfect boil cure. When Slughorn came by to test it, he was astonished.

"This is six seconds quicker than anything I've seen before! How _did_ you manage it?" Lily blushed.

"Really, Sir, it was Severus. He thought of balancing out the slugs..." Slughorn seemed deaf to her explanation.

"Marvelous, marvelous! Well, ten points to Gryffindor and Slytherin each, I suppose! Wonderful! Now, for homework, an essay on the properties of crushed snake fangs, at least a foot long, to be handed in on" As they left, he slipped her an invitation to lunch the next day. Lily was disgruntled as she, Andromeda, Susan, and Sev walked to the next class, Quidditch lessons.

"He wouldn't listen! I'm sorry, Sev, I know it was you, really."

"It's not your fault, Lily," he said. "And do you think maybe you could introduce me..." Lily flushed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she exclaimed. "Suze, 'Dromeda, this is Severus Snape. Sev, this is Susan Tonks and Andromeda Black."

"Pleasure," he said inclining his head. "I believe I have had the err-_honor_ of meeting your sister, Bellatrix?"

"Oh!" Andromeda went white. 'Has she been _very_ awful to you? I'm sorry if she has, but don't take it personally, please, she's really that way to everyone, even me-well, especially me, since I'm a Gryffindor..." she trailed off.

"She did, err, tell me I was unfit for the name of Slytherin because my father was a muggle, but I don't blame you!" He added hurriedly, seeing that Andromeda was looking ready to cry with shame.

"She's _so_ awful-she told me if I ever even talked to a muggleborn, she'd curse me into oblivion. But I don't care-you two are nice, and I'd rather talk to you than my sister's friends any day! They're awful too, and her boyfriend-he's sooo creepy! He stares at me, and he said-he said," tears trickling down her cheeks, she imitated Rodolphus Lestrange's deep, slow voice. "If you upset Bella in any way, Andromeda, I _will_ kill you." It was clear this had been bothering her for a long time-probably since he had first said it. Lily put her arms around Andromeda.

"Oh, 'Dromeda, don't worry! We'll protect you, I promise! Won't we, guys?"

Susan hugged Andromeda too. "Of course," she said. Severus looked concerned.

"I'll speak to Rudolphus," he said. Andromeda raised her head.

"Don't! He's a fourth year-and he's huge! He'll flay you alive!" Severus was defiant.

"Even so. Any friend of Lily's is a friend of mine, and if someone threatens my friends, I can't just ignore it!" Andromeda looked at him in wonder.

"Severus-thank you..." Lily, too, smiled gratefully at Sev.

**Author's Note:** I have decided to make Sev more mature, rather than the oddball Sirius describes him as having been. This is because although he does not remember his past life, it still has some effects on his subconscious, as I mentioned earlier. One of these is his increased maturity, given that he has already been an adult. He's still a kid, not an adult in a kid's body, but he's just a little more understanding. Please tell me what you think!


	7. Chapter 7: Quidditch Lessons

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 7

The four walked to the Quidditch pitch together. A young woman (she couldn't have been much older than nineteen) with very short, very spiky brown hair was standing in front of three long rows of broomsticks. She was wearing Quidditch robes and she blew furiously on a bright yellow whistle hanging round her neck.

"Right then, everybody choose a broom, and we'll get started. I'm Madam Hooch, all right?" Lily hurried to a broom next to Severus and saw to her displeasure that Potter was on her other side. She grimaced at Andromeda and Susan, who had taken their places in the row behind her, and they grinned. "Now," Madam Hooch commanded. "Focus on your broom and say _up_."

"Up!" Lily said to her broom. It rose a few inches off the ground and Lily grabbed it. On her left, Potter's broom had jumped straight into his hand, whereas on her right, Sev was shouting "UP!" at his broom furiously, with no effects whatsoever. Potter leaned around Lily, holding his broom cockily in one hand. "All right there, Snivellus? Need a few lessons? You see, when a _proper_ wizard calls their broomstick it flies right into their hand-you could just watch me, learn how it's done..."

Severus snarled at him. Lily turned to Potter. "What is your _problem_? That's my best friend you just insulted!"

"Your best friend? Come on, you can do better than ole Snivellus!" She was about to reply with fury, but Madam Hooch was coming down the row, helping people onto their brooms, so she held her tongue. Madam Hooch helped Severus and Lily onto their brooms. Potter needed no help-apparently he was already wonderful on a broomstick. Pity, Lily thought, that his fat head didn't cause him to fall off his broom-yes, a real pity... Flying was enjoyable, but Lily didn't think it would ever be her favorite; it frightened her a little too much. They had an hour of Quidditch classes every week, so she wouldn't have to worry about it too much unless she wanted to join the team next year. Somehow she doubted she'd change that much before then. While she didn't mind flying so much, Severus was looking positively ill. On the other hand, Potter was having more fun than anyone, flying in great loop de loops around her and swerving right in front of Sev, forcing him to veer.

By the end of the lesson, Lily, Susan, and Andromeda were all furious with Potter. When Sirius noticed their set faces and angry eyes, all in a line, he burst out laughing. "Something funny, Black?" Lily inquired icily.

"You three," he gasped, breathless with laughter. "You're the scariest thing I've ever seen! Ah ha ha! Perfect threatening look, 'Dromeda! Bellatrix would be proud! Ah ha, ah ha ha!" He fell to the ground laughing. Andromeda's face had gone white again. Lily pointed her wand at Black. "You're disgusting-how dare you frighten Andromeda like that?" Black stopped laughing at once.

"Frighten her? What do you-oh." He had caught sight of Andromeda's pale face. "Oh Merlin, I'm sorry, 'Dromeda. I didn't mean, that is, well, you're nothing like her really." Lily continued to glare at him, but Andromeda seemed mollified.

"It's okay, Sirius," she said. Black smiled apologetically, then went over to Potter, who was talking with another boy. The other boy was tall, thin and had grayish hair that fell messily over his forehead. They had lunch next. Lily left Susan and Andromeda outside the charms classroom, where they were waiting for Alice and Maddie, while she and Sev headed for the great hall. Once they got there, they parted ways, each to their own table.

**Author's Note:** Sorry if you don't like this filler stuff, but I couldn't resist the chance to show the beginnings of James's Quidditch prowess: I believe Severus describes him as "Big Quidditch Hero..." So how is it? Let me know!


	8. Chapter 8: Death Eaters

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 8

When Lily had finished eating, there was still a half hour of break time left. She made her way over to the Slytherin table and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Sev, you done?" He started.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm done."

"Let's go exploring!"

"Ok, if you want to."

He got up, grabbing his robe from where it lay on the bench next to him, and followed her out of the great hall. She led him up to the North tower.

"Ok, Sev. Now let's check out _every_ room that we have time to on our way down." They did this faithfully. Most of the rooms were empty classrooms, but a few had more interesting things, like the room that was full of swirling green smoke that, as they watched, turned slowly to pink, or the room that had strange disembodied eyes hanging from the ceiling that showered glitter all over the room, glitter that made whoever it touched very sleepy. Lily had a hard time dragging herself out of that room, but once she had, she had to run back in and get Sev, who was lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling dreamily.

After twenty minutes of exploring, Lily frowned and said, "I guess I'd better go get my things. What've you got next?" He smiled down at her.

"Double Transfiguration, then double History of Magic." She grinned wide.

"Me too! How about tomorrow?" He pulled out his timetable.

"Half an hour of Herbology, double Charms, Potions, double Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration."

"I have all that except the Herbology-I have Care of Magical Creatures instead. How about Wednesday?" It was soon clear that they had most of their classes together. "Are these our timetables for forever?" Lily asked, excited that she would still get to spend time with Sev even though they weren't in the same house.

"Until the end of term. Well, occasionally they'll change a little, like you'll have double Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws instead of Transfiguration with the Slytherins, so it's best to check every morning, but for the most part they stay the same."

"Great! I'm going to get my things. Save me a seat?"

"Of course!"

Severus hurried down to the Slytherin common room, which was under the dungeons. He went up to the dormitories, grabbed his things, and came back down. As he was about to leave for class, his way was blocked by none other than the prefect, Lucius Malfoy.

"Hello, Severus," he said pleasantly. "Good first day?" Severus backed away. He didn't like this boy at all. There was something about him, his blond hair and quick gray eyes and too wide smile, that scared Sev more than Rodolphus's huge stature, or Bellatrix's manic grin. Lucius Malfoy was bad news in Sev's book.

"Yeah-good," he mumbled. "Just got to get to Transfiguration..." Malfoy grinned wickedly, and for a moment Sev thought he wasn't going to let him go, but then he stepped aside and allowed Severus to scramble out of the porthole. Severus practically ran to Transfiguration, and as he slid into his seat next to Lily, it was with a feeling of relief.

"Where were you?" Lily whispered. "I've been waiting for ages, I was afraid you'd be late!"

"Got held up by Malfoy," he muttered. The teacher had entered the room, so they were keeping their voices as low as possible.

"Malfoy? That creepy blond prefect?"

"Yeah."

"He's dating 'Dromeda's eldest sister, did you know? Narcissa. He's awful, but he's not nearly as bad as Rodolphus..." She stopped abruptly as the teacher, Professor McGonagall, began to speak.

"Class, today we will be transfiguring matches into needles. You will find matches at your desks," she waved her wand and a match appeared in front of each student. As Professor McGonagall walked around correcting wand movements and word pronunciation, Lily continued talking to Sev.

"What's it like, being in Slytherin? Everyone in Gryffindor says all the Slytherins are evil. Obviously that's not true, you're not evil. But are the others?" He shook his head.

"Typical. Sure, some Slytherins are pretty awful, like Bellatrix, but there are awful people in every house. They're not _just_ in Slytherin. I mean, that Potter is really irritating, for example." She nodded.

"Yeah, okay. But Sev?"

"Yeah?"

"What are Death Eaters?"

Severus was taken aback. Everyone knew what Death Eaters were-or at least knew not to talk about them. But Lily was a muggleborn, so she had never heard the whispered tales of the Death Eaters and their cruelty, of their master, Voldemort. Neither had she heard the tales he believed, of noble, powerful wizards who worked to improve conditions for wizards the world over. How best to explain this...

"Well, there are two different rumors about the Death Eaters, Lily. It depends which you believe... Basically, they're a group of witches and wizards who work for their master, 'Lord Voldemort.' Some people say that they are evil, muggle hating psychos. Others believe that they are just trying to make conditions better for witches and wizards everywhere. That's what I believe... Many Slytherins have become Death Eaters. Voldemort is not very powerful at the moment, but the Ministry is afraid he'll become too powerful, so they tell the wizarding community tales of his wickedness. The Ministry doesn't do a great job most of the time, so I think the Death Eaters might try to improve it if they get more power. A lot of the boys in my dormitory want to join them when they leave school."

"Do you?"

"Well... I don't know. I think they're doing good things for wizards-if so, yeah, I suppose."

"What if they're not? What if they really are evil?"

"Well, if they're really evil, of course not. But look, Lily, don't go asking just anyone about them. Some people are really weird about them..."

She shrugged acceptance. "Yeah, ok." They didn't talk about the Death eaters anymore after that, turning their conversation to plans for their first weekend at Hogwarts. "I think we should hang out outside if the weather continues like this, Sev. We can do our homework out in the sun..." she trailed off as McGonagall came over to see how they were doing on their matches.

"Well _really_. No progress at all! A little less talking, a little more wand work, please. Now, like this..."

Lily had trouble performing the spell, but nearly everyone did, apparently. At least she had managed to make her match a little silvery, and kind of pointy at the end. Ted Tonks had actually gotten his to look like a needle, as Professor McGonagall pointed out approvingly. She then assigned them a short essay on proper wand technique Andromeda congratulated him shyly as he left the classroom, glowing with success, and he smiled at her, sweeping his hair out of his eyes. She blushed and giggled and then ran off to rejoin her friends.

Maddie was joining them for History of Magic, so they waited for her outside her classroom, then trooped off to the dismal History of Magic classroom. The teacher here was a skinny, middle aged man with a thin, drooping mustache. It was easily the most boring class Lily had ever attended. As the teacher, Professor Binns, droned on and on about goblin wars, Lily's eyelids began to droop, and her head fell forward a little. She jerked upright again, then leaned her head on Severus's shoulder as she half-listened. He blushed scarlet and went very stiff. By the time Professor Binns dismissed the class, Sev was very uncomfortable, and Lily was asleep.

"Lily," he hissed. "Wake up, it's time to go." She sat up and glanced around. "Class is over," he said.

"Oh, right." She yawned and gathered her things. "Sorry, Sev, I was just so tired..." He smiled awkwardly.

"It's ok, Lily. It _was_ pretty boring." She smiled sleepily at him. "What now?" she asked.

"Well, it's four, so dinner's not for another two hours. We should probably get a head start on our homework."

"Yeah," she said. "Want to go outside and do it together?" He nodded quickly. "Definitely."

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this. Your feedback is helpful and encouraging!


	9. Chapter 9: The Right Kind

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 9

That night at dinner, Lily was chatting animatedly with Maddie about Quidditch, which she was making good on her promise to explain, when Potter came over to her.

"Hey Evans, want to work on that History of Magic essay together? Great. Meet you in the common room at eight o'clock." He started to walk away, but she stopped him.

"Oy, Potter! I haven't said I'll go! As a matter of fact, I've already finished my essay." He looked stunned.

"Well, how about your transfiguration essay, then?"

"I've finished all my homework, and I already have plans with a _friend _after dinner, so thanks, but no thanks, Potter." He gaped. "No way-you can't have done that much homework already! If you don't want to hang out, just say so."

"I'm not making it up," she said icily. "I have better things to do then making up lies to tell you. I wouldn't waste that much time on you, to be honest. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the library." She got up, and seeing him get up too, she said, "Please don't follow me, Potter. I think your time would be better spent working on your homework, since apparently you haven't even started it yet..." She left the Great Hall swiftly, leaving Potter staring after her, dumbfounded. Black was shaking with silent laughter, pounding the table with his fist, while Susan had her head in her hands to conceal her mirth, and Andromeda and Maddie were shooting Potter knowing smiles and giggling uncontrollably. Potter sat down with a thud, red faced. "Right," he muttered to himself. "Right..."

Lily stepped into the library and was amazed at the silence. It was an imposing room, to be sure, with towering oak shelves of thick books, but the silence was so heavy here! She stepped around one of the shelves and, to her relief, saw Sev waiting for her. "It's so quiet!" she whispered.

"That's because you can't talk above a whisper in here. Try shouting something." Feeling silly, she shouted, "Potter is a prat!" at the top of her lungs, but to her surprise it came out as nothing more than a hoarse whisper. They read together in silence, as the constant whispering was very annoying. It was a companionable silence though, not bad at all.

After an hour or so, Lily yawned and stretched. "I'm going to go up to the common room, coming?" He thought for a minute. "Nah, I want to finish my chapter. See you tomorrow!" She grinned, then walked out of the library. He watched her go. She walked beautifully, with so much grace; it was almost like she was dancing. He shook himself and returned to his book.

Lily walked slowly back up to Gryffindor tower. How she wished Sev was a Gryffindor too-that they could be going up to the common room to read together in front of the fire... She sighed. Well, that wasn't going to happen. At least she could still hang out with him. "Bubotubers," she said wearily to the fat lady, who swung forward. She stepped inside the common room and spotted Vivian and Susan playing chess in the corner, aided and abetted by Ted, Andromeda, Hayley, Maddie, Alice, Mary, Frank, a tall blond boy Lily hadn't met yet, and Sirius Black. As she watched, debating whether to go join them or just go up to bed, Potter and two other boys joined the group. These boys seemed to have become just as attached to Potter as Black already was. She was going to go up to the dormitories so as to avoid Potter, but she was too late, he had already spotted her.

"Hey Evans, come on over!" he shouted. Vivian and Susan looked up and beckoned her over, and she came resignedly. "I'm just teaching Susan to play wizarding chess," Vivian said.

"I'm losing horribly," Susan said cheerfully. Lily was introduced to the tall blond boy, Rick Johnson, and to Potter's two new friends.

"Remus Lupin," he said, indicating the grayish haired boy she had seen him speaking to on the Quidditch pitch, "and Peter Pettigrew," he gestured towards a small, rather chubby boy with sandy hair. She smiled and shook hands with everyone in a friendly way, then excused herself, saying she was rather tired and thought she'd better turn in early. She made her way up to the dormitory and was about to enter the bathroom to wash up when she heard noises. Someone was sobbing quietly in the bathroom, and Lily could only think of one person it might be. "Maeve?" she whispered. "Is that you?" The sobs stopped at once. Maeve came out of the bathroom. "What do you want, Lily?" she asked coldly.

"Are you-are you all right?" Lily asked tentatively.

"No," Maeve said shortly, then she climbed into her bed and pulled the curtains shut with excessive force. Lily remained standing there for a minute, unsure of what to do, but then she shrugged. She couldn't do anything about it now, anyway. She'd try to get to the bottom of this tomorrow if she could. She took a hot shower, got into her pajamas, and climbed into bed. She lit her wandtip and read for a while, then extinguished the light, pulled her covers up to her chin, and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Sev had returned to the Slytherin common room and was working up the courage to confront Rodolphus Lestrange. He needed rather a lot of courage, as Rodolphus was large and brutal, and surrounded by friends. Eventually, despite these barriers, he strode across the room and asked to speak with Rodolphus. Rodolphus grinned and patted his shoulder. "What is it, first year? Need some advice?" Severus swallowed hard. "No," he said. I was going to ask you to leave my friend Andromeda alone, actually." Rodolphus's eyes narrowed.

"Oh yeah? And why would that be?"

"You've scared her half out of her wits with your threats, and it's got to stop! She's a nice girl; she doesn't deserve to be terrorized like that... A nice pureblood girl..." He trailed off as Rodolphus stepped towards him, meaty fists swinging menacingly at his sides.

"Don't you tell me what to do, first year!" he roared. "I'll threaten whoever I please!" He raised his fist. Severus was afraid he was going to die then and there, but at that moment Lucius Malfoy intervened.

"Now, now, Rodolphus, the boy's quite right. You don't want to go harming purebloods, especially seeing as there are so few of us left... So very few... What's more, the boy has shown proper loyalty today-he will be a good Slytherin. Stay your hand, Rodolphus, and in future, refrain from threatening pure-bloods-there should be enough mudbloods in this blasted school to last you a few years..." Rodolphus sat back down, breathing heavily. "Now, Snape, why don't you make some friends? Look-two of your year are over there, Mulciber and Avery-make the right kind of friends, Severus Snape, the right kind..."

Sev fell asleep that night with Malfoy's silky voice still echoing in his ears. "The right kind... The right kind..."

**Author's Note: **I know I've been rattling off chapters at an alarming pace, and this is because they were already written, they just needed some revision. Unfortunately, I am now going to be traveling and I'm not sure how long it will take to get my Internet up where I'm going, so there may be a lull between chapters. Also, school will be starting again, so I won't have as much time to write. I'll try to do at least one a week though!


	10. Chapter 10: Snowballs and Detentions

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 10

The days passed in a blur of classes, homework, and friends. Occasionally, Lily would try to find out what had been so wrong with Maeve, but this was met with such coldness that she soon gave up and just had fun with Maeve without any questions. She was forced to take part in Professor Slughorn's luncheons every once in awhile, but to her relief, she was often able to make feeble excuses which were never questioned. Sev too had made some friends, Lily was glad to see, even if they were strange... But he still was happy to hang out with her, so that was good. It wasn't until a few days before the holidays that anything much out of the ordinary happened. Lily was outside having a snowball fight with Sev and Andromeda when Potter came swaggering by with his friends, Lupin, Pettigrew, and Black. The four of them had formed a little "gang" at school-they called themselves "The Marauders". The only one Lily could bear in that group was Lupin, and even he wasn't great... in fact, she hated the whole gang. Potter had taken to setting the gang on classmates who annoyed him, something Lily found despicable. He had kept up his practice at taunting Severus whenever he had the chance, with the result that Sev was just itching for a chance to curse him. Lily had had to prevent several such encounters already, with the result that she loathed Potter, was often grumpy with Sev, and just wished they'd both grow up. This time, however, was worse. As Potter sauntered towards them, Severus went stiff with apprehension. He reached for his wand, but Lily placed on his arm, trying to calm him.

"Sev," she said pleadingly. "Just ignore him...come on, let's go inside." Severus shook her off, grabbing his wand and pointing it threateningly at Potter and his gang.

"Don't touch me," he warned them. Potter glared at him.

"What, going to touch us with your greasy hair, Snivellus? Go ahead, do your worst!" He too had pulled out his wand. Pettigrew snickered. The area surrounding the two boys had gone very quiet.

Severus took a deep breath and shouted "Expelliarmus!" just as James shouted "Petrificus Totalus!" James's wand flew into the air and towards Sev, who had fallen to the ground, paralyzed. "Stop it!" Lily cried, quickly performing the counter curse and helping Sev to his feet. She was too late. Avery and Mulciber, who were passing, had come to help Severus and were attacking Lupin, Pettigrew, and Black with a fury. She was about to run for help when Professor McGonagall came by. "Stop it!" she cried. "Stop it at once!" The boys lowered their wands reluctantly, panting hard. "What is the meaning of this, Mr. Snape? What in the world has possessed you all?"

Lily came to Severus's defense. "He was provoked, Professor, and they attacked at the same time."

To her surprise, Andromeda disagreed. "Severus took his wand out first, Professor." Lily glared at her, and she shrugged.

"Mr. Lupin. Can you explain what happened?" Lupin swallowed and glanced nervously from Potter's ingratiating smile to Severus's pale and tense face.

"What Miss Evans says is true, Professor," he said quietly, "but so is what Miss Black says. When we approached, Mr. Snape pointed his wand at us, though it was more defensive than aggressive. James insulted him, and they hexed each other at the same time. Then Mr. Avery and Mr. Mulciber came to Snape's defense, attacking Peter, Sirius, and me."

Professor McGonagall nodded slowly. "Very well. Ten points from both Slytherin and Gryffindor. All seven of you will be serving detention with me tomorrow night. I am sorely disappointed with your behavior." She swept away towards the castle.

Potter grinned. "So, Evans... Want to go-err-_study_ in the common room?"

She looked daggers at him. "No. Not now, not tomorrow, not the last time you asked me, and not the next time you ask me. Leave me _alone_!" She turned to Severus. "Coming, Sev?" He nodded and followed her into the castle. As soon as they were alone, she turned on him. "What were you _thinking_? Are you crazy? Potter's not worth it, Sev. He's just not worth it! Just-just ignore him, Sev. Please." He grimaced.

"I'll try. But if he tries anything, I won't hold back!" She too grimaced. Andromeda came hurrying toward them. "Hey Severus, sorry 'bout that. I wasn't trying to get you in trouble-I just wanted to tell the whole truth."

"Yeah, it's okay. I just wish that bastard Potter would leave me alone." Though Severus did not seem angry at all, Lily was still upset. "But 'Dromeda, you know that Potter would have hexed Sev even if he didn't pull his wand. Why would you tell McGonagall as if it incriminated him?"

"I wasn't trying to, Lily," Andromeda looked offended. Lily sighed. "Yeah, I know, 'Dromeda. Sorry I'm being so snarky-Potter just pisses me off so much." The girls smiled at each other, then Lily said, "Let's go get Maeve and Susan and ambush 'The Marauders' with snowballs!" The other two nodded enthusiastically, and they hurried up to the Gryffindor common room together.

**Author's Note: **Thanks so much to everyone who has favorited/story-alerted this. A special thanks to those who have reviewed so far: NectarAndAmbrosia, ReallyUhSharp, Nymma, Tina95, lucyferr, In The Canis Major, and IonicAmalgam. Actually, rereading this chapter, it sucks, but that's life, I suppose. The next one will be better, I promise.


	11. Chapter 11: Revenge

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 11

When Lily, Susan, Maeve and Andromeda sat down at the Gryffindor table that evening, red faced with exertion and giggling uncontrollably, Maddie looked at them in bewilderment. "Are you three okay?" They laughed harder.

"Oh, we're fine," Maeve said between peals of laughter. "The Marauders less so!" Vivian leaned across Maddie.

"Lily, what did you do this time?"

"Nothing," Lily snorted. "Just a few simple spells and some good old snow!"

Hayley opened her mouth to ask what they were talking about, but her question was answered before the first word left her lips. The doors to the Great Hall opened with a bang, and in came Potter, Black, Pettigrew, and Lupin, all covered in snow that refused to come off, with a few lazy snowballs still attacking them, seemingly by themselves. Potter's face was red under the snow and he seemed absolutely furious. The Slytherin table, upon seeing The Marauders' embarrassment, rose as one mass and applauded loudly. Potter pulled out his wand and pointed it threateningly at the Slytherins. There was a loud and pointed cough from Professor McGonagall, and Potter slowly lowered his wand and sat down. Then he glared at Lily.

"You did this, didn't you?" She was laughing too hard to answer. Potter glowered at his plate. "I'll get you for this, Evans," he said threateningly. She laughed still harder. A few tables away, Mulciber was pounding Sev on the back as he choked on a piece of potato, laughing harder even than Lily. The Gryffindor table was in chaos. A food fight began between The Marauders and their supporters, and Lily and her friends. Only when everyone was thoroughly covered in food did McGonagall come by and put an end to it.

"Thirty points from Gryffindor for this _outrageous_ behavior," she hissed, "and I trust you will not make such a spectacle again!" The Gryffindors managed to hold in their laughter until she was back at the teacher's table, then the table exploded. Lily looked directly at Potter and said loudly "Oh, James, let me come wipe the snow off you!" The entire table grew silent. James looked stunned. Then he grinned at her.  
"At last you come around, Evans," he said jauntily. "Very well then, if you must." He closed his eyes as she walked over and began stroking the snow on his face. Severus' smile had changed to a frozen look of horror, and Andromeda was watching with mixed repulsion and fascination. After a few minutes, in which the Great Hall was eerily silent, Lily stepped back, brushed the snow off her hands, and smirked. Far from removing the snow, she had arranged it into a huge L smack in the center of his forehead, and somehow had managed to dye it red without him noticing. Severus had visibly relaxed, and was smiling again. She sat back down with her friends, barely containing her laughter, while Potter yawned and opened his eyes.

"Done already?" he asked plaintively. "I think you missed some." He reached up to brush the remaining snow off his forehead, and stopped short when he felt the hard-packed L that refused to come off. "What in the..." he muttered, picking up a spoon and looking at his reflection in it. "Oh my God... Lily! What the heck!" The table exploded once more as Potter choked with rage and humiliation. Even Black was roaring with laughter. "You should have seen the look on your face, mate! Priceless!"

**Author's Note:** Ah, revenge is sweet. And so are you guys! Thanks so much for all the reviews, they made me happy! (And a happy writer is a good writer...)


	12. Chapter 12: Apolline

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized. **

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 12

The rest of the year passed quickly-too quickly for Lily. She missed her parents, of course, but she loved Hogwarts and didn't want to leave it. What's more, Petunia had made it all too clear, when they saw each other over the holidays, that she wanted nothing to do with "freaks." Lily was not looking forward to spending three months cooped up with her. However, after two weeks a stroke of good fortune arrived in the form of Susan Tonks. Lily was reading in the sunny window seat that was on the east side of her room when something dark and compact flew down and began pecking the window for all it was worth. Lily pulled the window open, and a small dark-gold owl flew in the room. She took the roll of parchment it was holding, tossed it a treat, and began reading.

Dear Lily,

How would you like to come to my place for the rest of the summer? My sister's gone off to America for a bit of studying, so my parents said you could come. Mary's here already, and Alice might come next week, so it'll be much fun! I invited 'Dromeda too, but her parents hate muggle-borns, so that was a flop. Write back and tell me if you can as soon as possible!

Love, Susan (kisses!)

Lily raced downstairs to ask her parents if she could go. They were slightly reluctant, but in the end they agreed. "Three preteen girls," her father muttered. "I wish Mr. and Mrs. Tonks luck!" She hit him on the shoulder.

"Daaad!" she said, and they both laughed.

There was only one drawback to the arrangement, however, and that was Sev. She didn't want to leave him by himself here... She pushed the thought out of her mind and went upstairs to write back to Susan. She would tell him tomorrow...

The next day when she met Severus by the river in their usual spot, she was still worrying about how to tell him. As it turned out, she didn't have to bring the subject up at all. They were talking about going back to Hogwarts, and he asked her if she'd like to come to Diagon Alley with him, not to get school supplies, but for a treat. "We'll stay in the leaky cauldron and everything," he explained, eyes shining with excitement.

"Oh, Sev," she said cautiously. "I-I'd love to, but I'm afraid I'm going to Susan Tonks' house for the rest of the holidays. I can probably meet you there when we go for supplies, but... I'm really, really sorry, Severus."

He shrugged as if it didn't matter, but she could see the hurt in his eyes. "Right," he muttered. "Right, no, it's okay, I guess I'll owl you about when I'm going and we can meet." He got up, not meeting her eyes, and turned to walk away. "Um, I've just got to, umm, I've got to go."

"Sev," she said again. "I'm really sorry." He walked off without answering, giving her a half-hearted wave as he went. Her eyes welled up with tears. Would he not want to be her friend anymore? With this in mind, she ran after him. "Sev, wait!" He stopped and turned to meet her. "I just-wanted to say goodbye," she panted, out of breath from chasing him. "Oh, right," he said, but then he turned and hugged her tightly. "I'll see you soon, alright?" he whispered to her. She nodded, then turned and ran back to the house.



Lily's parents drove her to the train station the next day. "Now, Lily," her mother said, almost tearfully. "You be good, and don't be a bother!" Lily nodded. Her father spoke. "Now, you know which train to catch?"

"Yes, Dad."

"And you're sure Mr. Tonks will meet you at the station?"

"_Yes_, Dad."

"Alright, alright. My little girl's growing up, isn't she?" He hugged her tightly, and she hugged back, knowing she wouldn't see him again until the winter holidays-maybe not even then. Her mother hugged her too, and then she got out of the car, pulling a large duffel bag, and ran towards the train. Her long, dark red hair flew out behind her, and her bright green converse shoes slapped the pavement. When she had gone shoe shopping, she had been worried about wearing Slytherin color shoes, but she shook the thought off. Her best friend was a Slytherin, after all. She climbed onto the train and sat in one of the grungy seats, pulling out a book. After half an hour, the train began to move, and a girl sat down next to Lily.

"_The Beauty of Hidden Spells_?" she asked quizzically, turning her head to the side to read the title of Lily's book. Lily blushed faintly.

"Oh-ermm, it's just a bit of summer reading-fantasy and that, you see..." She trailed off as the girl smiled knowingly.

"Don't worry," she said, and Lily noticed that she had a faint French accent. "I'm a witch. I go to Beauxbatons, it's a school in France."

"Oh," Lily squeaked. "Er, I go to Hogwarts."

The girl smiled again. She seemed to be a few years older than Lily, and she was so very beautiful that she made Lily feel more shy than usual. She had very long, silvery blond hair. Her face seemed to be perfectly proportioned, and her crystal blue eyes were framed with thick, dark lashes. Her eyebrows were arched at Lily's obvious examination, and Lily blushed once again. "I'm Lily Evans," she said, attempting to cover her confusion.

The girl held out her hand. "Apolline LeBlanc. Pleasure." The girls shook hands. "So," Appolline said, casually. "What brings you to this dreadful train?"

"Oh, I'm just visiting a couple school friends for the rest of the summer. You?"

"I'm visiting my father. I live with my mother. She's a veela, so it's a bit different, but my father is such a bore! I love him, of course, but I could never _live_ with him." Lily nodded in total awe. They talked the whole train ride, barely stopping to eat, and when Apolline got off the train, it was not before leaving Lily her address and phone number. "My papa doesn't like me using the magical ways of communicating when I'm with him, so this is if you want to contact me during the holidays. Otherwise, just send an owl." As she got off the train, she paused. "Penpals?" she said. Lily was amazed that this-this perfect girl would want to be friends with her, but she nodded readily. "Good," laughed Apolline, and then jumped gracefully off the train. Lily watched through the window as she ran to a brown haired, balding man wearing spectacles, sweat pants, and comfy loafers. "Papa!" she shouted as she jumped into his arms, and he twirled her, laughing. They walked away, arms linked, and Lily smiled and turned back to her book.

**Author's Note: **First to guess who Apolline is will get fifteen house points to the house of their choice when Lily goes back to Hogwarts. You have to tell me which house in your review, though, I may be a writer, but I'm not a mind reader. Even if you don't have a guess, please review any way! And kudos to anyone who realized that Lily has a bit of a girl-crush on Apolline. (She really admires her and wants to be like her.) Also, I just wanted to say, in response to irchoklit, that I know I have lots of OCs, but it was not entirely intentional. I wanted Lily to have roughly ten dorm-mates (I was assuming about one hundred people are accepted into Hogwarts every year) and so I had to write these in. The only ones I truly invented, however, were Susan Tonks and Lucy Weasley. Andromeda Black, Alice Lourdes, and Mary McDonald are taken from the books. The others were meant to be the parents of future Hogwarts students.

Maddie Greene-Rick Johnson: Angelina Johnson

Vivian Delaney-Matt Spinnet: Alicia Spinnet

Hayley Kamber-Damian Bell: Katie Bell

Maeve Finnigan-? (I haven't decided yet-if anyone has any ideas, let me know!): Seamus Finnigan

So, in conclusion to this unbelievably long author's note, I apologize for all the OCs, and I hope this clears up why I put them in.

P.S. Thank you all for your lovely reviews!


	13. Chapter 13: An Unwanted Owl

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized.**

**Author's Note: ** Sorry, sorry, sorry, that it took so long to update! I'm really not happy with this chapter, and I kept deleting and rewriting it, but I couldn't get it to work. Finally I decided to go ahead and post it anyways, because I had gone so long without an update. I've started on a new chapter and it's going better, so I hope the next one will make up for this one when I post it. Also, don't be too upset with me for skipping second year. As I explained at the end of the chapter, nothing was going to happen. If you're too upset, maybe I'll add something in, but I really think it will work better this way. Anyway, sorry for the poor quality and slow update, enjoy the chapter, and the next one will be better! 

Chapter 13

When Lily finally arrived, she was tired and uncomfortable from sleeping in the hard train seat. She got up slowly and dragged her duffel bag down from the train. She peered through the dark and rain, but didn't see Susan anywhere. Getting a little worried, she walked out of the station and into the parking lot, but still, she saw no one. A few drunken men were sitting with a bottle of beer near the entrance. They watched her with beady eyes, and, feeling uncomfortable, she turned and hurried back inside.

The train station was nearly empty now, it was late and most people were at home in their beds. A kind looking woman leaned forward from the ticket counter to speak to her. "You alright, love? We're closing up in ten minutes." Lily hugged herself and shivered. "I'm fine!" she called back. "My friend's dad is coming to pick me up!" The woman nodded. "Alright, whatever you say, dear." The minutes ticked past agonizingly slowly. Finally, the woman got up, stretched, and put a closed sign over her booth. "Sorry hon, but you'll have to wait outside. We're closed." Lily nodded bravely and stepped out into the chilly night air. The drunken men were still there. She looked away from them, towards the dark sky. Where _were_ they? To her relief, she saw headlights coming into the parking lot, and soon Susan jumped out of a small yellow car. "Come on," she shouted towards Lily. Lily got into the car and put her bag under her legs with mixed feelings of relief and annoyance. Susan's father, a tall, dark haired man with thin, square black spectacles, smiled apologetically at her. "Sorry we're so late... Took me awhile to find the right train station, even with Susie here shouting the proper directions at me." Susan grinned. "Sorry, Lily. I told him the right station and everything, but he insisted on getting lost." Lily sat back, utterly happy, as Susan and her father bantered playfully. After a bit, Susan turned to her. "So, how's your summer been?" Lily smiled.

"It's been good. Petunia was awful-she won't have anything to do with me now, called me a freak because of my magic-but I hung out with Sev and my parents most of the time, so that was fun. I feel bad, actually, leaving Sev, but..." She noticed something. "Hey, you changed your hair!" Now that she thought about it, she had seen it earlier, but her tired brain must have ignored it. Susan's hair had been cut in a bob, with dark, thick bangs. It was no longer violet, but rather a deep black that flashed purple in the light. It looked really good, Lily thought. The bangs emphasized her big eyes and long lashes, and the tint of the hair brought color to her cheeks. "It looks... Wow. It looks amazing, Suze. Did you do it, or did you have it done?" Susan blushed a little.

"I did the color, but I had the haircut done," she said. "It was a birthday present. The hairdresser had fits when I asked her to do it. She was so excited!"

"Well, it looks great. It sucks that 'Dromeda couldn't come."

"Yeah. But Alice and Mary both came, so it'll be like a giant sleepover! Alice is having a blast with all the muggle things. She's never lived without magic before, so life with her here will be...interesting." Interesting was a good word for it, Lily thought, amused. When she had tried to teach Sev to make scrambled eggs, he had ended up letting the whisk beat without him, which had resulted in him accidentally spraying beaten egg over the entire kitchen... It certainly was going to be interesting.

When they arrived at the large three story house, which was secluded from the road it was on by an extremely long driveway, Susan led Lily upstairs excitedly. "Here we go," she said proudly, throwing open two large French doors. The room was large and the walls were almost entirely covered by windows. A door on the right led into a tiled bathroom with a giant Jacuzzi bathtub and shower. There was an enormous revolving bookshelf in the middle of the room, and to the right of it seemed to be Susan's normal living space. Sheer black curtains were pulled across the enormous windows on this side, so that any light coming in would be filtered and strange. The same black curtains cloaked a large four-poster bed, while a heavy oak desk sat in a corner. An ornate grey lamp was glowing on the desk next to a sleek silver laptop, and a black crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. The walls were ebony with strange silver swirls all over them, and silver stars and constellations were painted on the ivory-colored ceiling. Near the entrance to the bathroom was a large closet, containing four Hogwarts uniforms, two Gryffindor robes, and assorted jeans, t-shirts, and skirts. Most of the clothes were red and gold-you got the impression Susan was quite proud of her house. Lily had the impression of a huge red and gold blur before she turned her attention to the other side of the room.

This side was much cheerier. The walls were a pale pink and the ceiling white washed. A modern looking bed with light wood and a bright blue bedspread, as well as a small, square desk with a halogen lamp atop it, had been pushed up against a wall to make room for a rainbow striped mattress. The mattress was heaped with blankets and pillows of all different colors, and in among them Lily could vaguely see the shapes of Mary and Alice, sleeping peacefully. This side of the room had a similar bathroom. Lily stared in amazement at the room, dropping her duffel bag with a thud. "Is this your room?" she asked Susan.

"Yeah," the girl responded. "Well, that half's mine," she gestured towards the dark right side of the room. "The side we're sleeping on is my sister's really, but like I said, she's in America at the moment, so... Yeah. Well, what do you think?" Lily looked back at Susan. "I think it's amazing!" she said.

By the time Lily had put her bag down where Susan instructed her to, then changed into pajamas and laid down, she was too weary to do anything more than settle in for a long sleep.

The next morning, she was awoken by someone bouncing up and down on top of her. "Owch, ow, gerroff!" she mumbled, reaching up to push whoever it was off. "LILY!" Alice's voice called. "We didn't know you were here!"

"We missed you!" chimed in Mary.

Lily groggily looked around. Alice's face came into sharp relief just above her own. "Aaahhh!" she screamed. "Alice, get off!" Thus commenced a very girlish wrestling, giggling fit, which continued until Susan stood up, stretched, and said, "Breakfast, anyone?" There were immediate cries of "Me! Me!" and the girls got up and stretched, then trooped down to the kitchen. Ted Tonks was already seated at the table, eating corn flakes while studying the back of the box earnestly. "Teddy!" Susan cried, launching herself at him. "Darling brother! May we please have use of the cereal box you are so intent on understanding?" He shrugged, nonplussed, and Susan grabbed the cereal box and waltzed away into a large dining room. As they sat eating, ignoring Alice's cries of "What is this crunchy stuff?" and "Why is the milk turning yellow?" Lily turned to Susan. "Your room's a bit goth, Suze. Not criticizing or anything, but I must admit I'm a little surprised." Susan looked sheepish.

"Yeah, I know, it's not how I act at all, but I really love all that ornate Gothic stuff, you know? It's beautiful, if you really look at it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

"HEY LILY!" Alice shouted suddenly, causing them all to jump high in the air. Lily turned to her, a little irritated. "What do you want, Al?" Mary snorted into her frosted flakes. "Al?" Alice ignored the annoying nickname, her attention on more pressing matters. "You've got a letter, Lily! And guess who it's from?" All the girls had by now focused their attention on Alice and the small, feebly hooting grey owl she held clenched in her hand. Lily, recognizing all too well the mischievous glint in Alice's brown eyes, made a dive for the owl, but Alice stood on her chair, holding it out of reach. Ignoring Lily's desperate snatches for it, she undid the letter attached to its scrawny leg. She let go of her tight grip on the owl, then unrolled the letter and began to read aloud.

"Dearest, darlingest Lily,

How are you? I miss you-when are you going into Diagon Alley? Maybe we can meet... Has to be more fun with me than with Snivellus! By the way, I sent the owl as a birthday gift, seeing as you didn't tell me about your birthday in January. I only found out 'cause of I sent a Howler to Snivellus and he owled me back telling me I was a git, and that if I was so much better a friend for you than him, how come he gave you a birthday present and I didn't? So here it is-like it? What'd Snivellus get you, he took a shower? Anyways, owl me about Diagon Alley, 'kay?

See ya, Lils!

James Harold Potter"

"Well," said Mary, after a long pause. "He's quite sweet, isn't he?" At this, the others began laughing fit to burst, and after a pause Mary joined in, while the tiny, unwanted owl swooped about their heads, tweeting and hooting fit to burst.

The rest of Lily's stay went much the same way. She gave the owl to Mary, as its constant tweeting and hooting annoyed her no end. There was also the fact that it had come from that idiotic Potter... Whatever the reason, she detested the little owl, and had no wish to keep it. She duly went into Diagon Alley with her friends and Sev, and was very glad not to catch a glimpse of Potter, though she did see Lupin at one point, and greeted him cordially. She thought the trip might have gone better, however, as her friends were, if not rude to Sev, than less than friendly. She had no idea why this was, and after a few hours back at the house of her accusations, they confessed that they had been put off by Severus's deep perusal of a book of the Dark Arts. Needless to say, this did not make Lily happy at all, and she only cooled down once they had all apologized for their treatment of her best friend.

Their second year was also much the same as their first. Lily grew more and more infuriated with Potter each time he spoke to her. She was in an uncomfortable position, for she hated Potter, but had to prevent Severus from hexing him. This did not make her feelings towards Potter any sweeter. That summer, she stayed with Alice for the last month of the holidays, with Mary and Susan. Andromeda again could not come, once it was confirmed that muggle-borns were involved. Lily was beginning to grow curious about these strange prejudices...

**Author's Note: **I couldn't resist the descriptions and random friendship fluff, sorry! The chapter's not great, I had that dreaded affliction, WRITER'S BLOCK, while writing it, but the next one should be better. They're going back to Hogwarts, the promised points will be doled out, and dramas will abound. Also, I apologize for skipping second year, but it was pretty much the same as first-too young for real relationships, and getting to be too old for cute friendships. They're still a bit young in third year, but at least they're teens now. One last thing-I'm toying with the idea of sending Apolline to Hogwarts for a year, as an exchange student. This was suggested by gossipgirlandthsotpfan. If you think she should, review and tell me-if you think she shouldn't, review and tell me that. Depending on what people say, I will put her in or not.


	14. Chapter 14: Ten Points To Gryffindor

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized.**

**Author's Note: **Ok, I'm so sorry it took so long again. I hope this chapter (Though it's very short!) makes up for it. I know I've been bad about updating. I'm trying! Real life gets in the way. So I'm offering you a choice: Do you guys want me to continue writing at my changing pace, which means sometimes it will take this long for chapters to come out, and sometimes it'll only be a day or two, or do you want me to set up a schedule, for example, Sev's Second Chance will be updated each Wednesday, etc? Please tell me!

Oh, and it says on my profile, but I'm looking for a beta to help me cut down on meaningless chapters full of pointless fluff. I am also looking to be a beta, if anyone is interested. And last but not least, I may write another time travel fic involving Harry/Sev/Lily (not romantically! I mean, maybe Sev/Lily romantically, but not Harry!) anyway, I don't know if it's a good idea, but if you want me to let you know if I post the first chapter, tell me, and then you can tell me whether I should go hide the idea in a bottomless pit or whether I should continue.

This chapter is dedicated to lovely Lily, without whom I would be severely depressed right now! Bises! Having someone to vent to... Well. Thank you pretty much says it all.

Sev's Second Chance

Chapter 14

Severus Snape had no idea where he was, or what was going on. There was a girl in front of him, and she was laughing. She turned around, and for a moment she looked like Lily. Then he saw that her eyes were hazel, not brown. Her face was more oval than Lily's, and her hair was brown and bushy. She looked to be about fifteen years old. When she saw him, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Professor Snape..." she whispered. He was confused. "How do you know my name?" he asked, his voice loud and echoing. Then the ground opened up, and he was falling. He woke with a start. Someone was talking to him. "Sev! Wake up! We're almost at Hogwarts, you need to change!" He blinked groggily. "Lily?"

"Yes, hurry _up_, Sev!"

"I had the strangest dream... There was this girl, and she called me Professor, and..."

"Sev! Hurry! We'll be there in two minutes!"

For the first time he listened to what she was saying. "What? Oh, shit!" He hurried out to change, and returned a few minutes later, disheveled but still presentable.

He was just in time. The train had pulled to a stop and already students were clambering down to the platform. Sev and Lily followed suit, along with a few of Lily's giggly friends, what were their names? Susie, wasn't it, and Ali? Maybe not. Lily's friends clambered into one of the horseless carriages, and it took off, leaving the two of them shivering in the dark, waiting for the next one. Severus saw how cold Lily was, and he took off his robe, offering it to her. "Here," he said. "Take it. I'm not cold." He was lying, the lie made obvious by his goosebumps and shivers, but Lily either didn't notice or didn't want to hurt his pride, and she took the robe without complaint, wrapping it around herself gratefully. All the other students had already left, and he was just getting into the next carriage with Lily when two more people climbed in: Potter and Black. When Potter saw who it was in the carriage with him, he had a mixed reaction. "Lily!" he cried at first, and when she glared, he turned to her companion. "And... Snivellus."

Black laughed, and then said, looking genuinely disappointed, "Why did you have to bring Snivelly, Lils? Couldn't you have brought some of your," he winked, "other friends?" Lily looked at him, disgusted.

"_Severus_ is my best friend, Black. And why did you have to take this carriage?" The last was under her breath, so low even Severus barely caught it. Black shrugged, and turned back to Potter. Severus paid no attention to their stupid chatter-he was busy watching Lily, and had no time for such nonsense. Although-not that he would ever admit it to himself-there was a part of him, deep in there, that wished he could be well liked and have many friends. He shook the thought off and turned back to Lily. She was listening intently to Black and Potter's whispered conversation, and he was annoyed, until he saw the look on her face. She looked _furious_. He hoped-prayed that he would never be on the receiving end of that look. Potter didn't seem to mind, though. If anything, he liked it. Potter and the Marauders were the only people he had ever seen Lily direct that look at. She spoke coldly. "Maybe it had escaped your notice, Potter, but I _can _hear you."

"So? I don't mind, Lilyflower."

Severus bristled, but Lily herself was none too pleased. "Do not call me that. And I mind, because what you are planning to do to the first years is cruel, stupid, dangerous, and not funny at all. Not to mention, it will never work."

"Not work? Whatever do you mean, Lilyflower?"

"I told you not to call me that! And it'll never work because, stupid as you two are, I'm still surprised you didn't realize I would report you."

"You wouldn't..."

"And you two call me EVANS. Got it? You do not have my permission to use my first name."

James looked highly pissed off, while Black just looked annoyed that their trick wasn't going to work. When the carriage finally arrived and they entered the castle, Lily went straight to Professor McGonagall, who was awaiting the first years in the entrance. She whispered to her, gesticulating frantically, while Severus watched, amused, and Black and Potter attempted to slip away. McGonagall gave them both detention for the prank they had been going to play, and promised them each worse punishment if they still tried to carry through with their plan. Potter was very disgruntled, and when McGonagall gave Gryffindor ten points for Lily's reporting, he couldn't seem to resist his backtalking urge. "But Professor, that's giving points to our house too! What's the point?"

Professor McGonagall glared at him and ordered him into the Great Hall. Lily smiled and Severus and they parted ways. Severus just felt lucky that the feast finished without him getting food thrown at him even once. He supposed it was only a matter of time, and he would enjoy the clean clothes while he could.

**Author's Note:** I know, I know, it's really short, don't hate me! And it's also pointless. I'm sorry. Tell you what, as apology for this being so late/short/irrelevant, I promise to have a new one up by Friday. Saturday at the very latest. And this one will be conducive to the plot. Deal? If I remember correctly, this is the year where Sirius hatches an evil plot... Next chapter may switch to Marauder POV for Remus' secret and Sirius' plan. Or maybe not. Oh and I don't think Apolline will be coming to Hogwarts, sadly for me. I love writing about her! Anyway, it would just be weird for her to have been at school with Lily for a year and not told Harry. Further info about my possible story-Harry may inhabit James' body. That's all I'm saying. Message me if you're interested in reading a chapter. And PLEASE tell me if you want to beta or need a beta!


	15. Chapter 15: A Furry Little Problem

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to J. K. Rowling. Any text from her books is italicized.**

**Author's Note: ** As I've explained below, real life hates me.

Chapter 15: A continuation of Chapter 14

That night, in the Gryffindor dormitories, James was pacing. "Where is Remus? Where _is _he? I bet the Slytherins got him, damn it! We have to find him!"

"James, calm down. He's probably just sick. He gets sick a lot, you know."

"I know... But don't you think there's something weird about that?"

"James... Like what, exactly? The poor bloke's just ill. Although, he is ill way more than a normal, non studious person like you or me."

"Well... I was doing my summer divination homework just now, and..."

"You were doing your _Divination homework_? Has the world gone mad? What's gotten into you, James?"

"Shut up! This is serious!"

"Sirius? I thought I was..."

"I think Remus is a werewolf!"

Stunned silence met this proclamation. Then Sirius laughed nervously and said, "You're joking, right?"

"I'm not."

The other boys were at dinner, and Remus missing, so only Sirius and Peter were there to hear this accusation.

"Really?"

"Yes, I had to do a Lunar Chart, and I noticed...well, every time Remus is "sick", it's a full moon!"

"Come to think of it, he does get a bit jumpy near the full moon..."

"I know! So the question is...what do we do? Should we confront him?"

"Well...we shouldn't hang out with him anymore, right? I mean, he could be dangerous!"

Sirius and James both turned to Peter and _stared_ at him. "Peter..." James said threateningly. "That was not at all a sentiment worthy of a Marauder..."

Peter squeaked and looked worried. "But werewolves..."

"Peter," Sirius said. "Did you learn _anything_ in DADA? Werewolves can't help it. It's like...like a sickness. And Remus is our friend. We aren't going to ditch him because he's...sick. We'll help him!"

James was nodding. "I say we confront him. And Peter... That kind of anti-'half breeds' feeling is pureblood shit. Don't let it corrupt you, mate."

"Yeah..." Peter still looked scared, but more determined.

The next morning, Remus came back in very early, at six in the morning, and was surprised to find Peter, James and Sirius, the last who had a reputation for never getting up before eleven if he didn't have to, waiting for him in the common room. What was even more surprising was the look of mixed apprehension and fear on the three boys' usually laughing-well, apart from Peter-faces. Remus gulped a little. "What are you doing up so early, Sirius? Did you need help on another homework?"

The three boys exchanged looks, then James spoke. "Where were you?"

Crap. Remus looked around nervously. "I was...sick."

"You get sick a lot, don't you, Remus? I would even go so far as to say once every month-near the full moon?"

They knew. Remus looked around, desperate for an exit, but Sirius flicked his wand, and his feet were knocked out from under him by a squishy red armchair. "Relax, Remus. Don't run away just yet. We only want to talk to you."

"I..."

"Are you a werewolf, Remus?"

What should he do? Tell the truth? What else could he do? "I-yes."

He hung his head. They wouldn't want to be friends with him now, surely. He got up slowly and headed for the entrance to the common room. Sirius got up. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"To tell Dumbledore I'm going home. No point in staying now, is there?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, even if you don't tell anyone, I can't go through the next five years without any friends-or with you guys hating me. I might as well just leave."

"Remus...we really don't care." This was James. Remus gaped at him.

"You don't...care? Are you mental?"

"Yes."

"Shut up Sirius. No, it doesn't matter to us. We know you can't help it... it must be pretty horrid, huh? Tell us about it! We still want to be your friends, of course! And you should tell us what we can do to help. I know from DADA that it can't be very much fun."

Remus looked nervous, but after a few moments of hesitation, he sat back down. "Well, every full moon..."

**Author's Note: **Right. Real life hates me. Anyway, it stepped in again with a bad cold, and I hadn't the energy to write anything for a couple days. But here it is! Now, quality of my chapters has been down of late, so I'm thinking of redoing the past few chapters-I don't know yet though. Oh, and if you don't absolutely detest this, please review, if only to let me know that you haven't stopped reading do to how bad my past few chapters were. If I get three reviews, I'll update again tomorrow, unless...real life...intervenes again, which is unlikely.


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